The Siren
by Star Moonsong
Summary: Senjo had always loved adventure, but will this new voyage be too much for her? After joining the pirates aboard the Siren, the young woman starts to think maybe she had gotten more than she bargained for.
1. 13 Shillings and 2 Horses

"Oi! Senjo!"

Senjo grinned as she spotted a chestnut horse pulling a black carriage approaching.

"Victoria!" she exclaimed as she smiled at the beautiful mare.

The brunette driver shook his head. "So, the horse recieves a better greeting than I do?" he laughed.

Senjo smiled up at the young man. "Hello Nicholas."

"Thought you might's been down at the river today," the 20 year-old stated.

Senjo shook her head, her emerald eyes shimmering in the afternoon sun. "No, but could you give me a ride into port?"

Nicholas laughed. "You ask like it's but a five minute ride. You know it's more than a day's journey."

Senjo nodded and grinned, brushing back a loose strand of her snowy white hair. "That's whyI asked you."

Nicholas smiled proudly. "Because I'm the best diver in town?"

The 18 year-old shook her head, smiling. "Well, 13 shillings and two horses later, you're the only one that will still trust me."

The young man shook his head and smiled. "What am I going to do with you Miss Kitsune?"

Senjo laughed and shrugged. "Who knows!"

Nicholas grinned. "Well, hop on in," he said as he jumped from his perch and opened the carriage door. He laughed as he spotted Senjo's male attire. "I don't think you need help getting in. You look pretty capable yourself." But he still held out his hand.

Senjo playfully nudged his arm and dropped a small leather bag into the hand he offered her. "You'll find 13 shillings in there. But I honestly don't know what happened to the horses," she laughed, spotting Nicholas' suprised face.

Senjo walked over to the chestnut mare and gently patted her muzzle. She then hopped up into the driver's seat and took the reigns.

Nicholas slammed the door and clammered up to Senjo.

"Stealing another horse from me?" he joked.

Senjo shook her head. "No, but can I drive?"

She playfully bat her long eyelashes as doubt started to show through Nicholas' soft blue eyes.

Finally, he let out a groan and nodded. "All right, all right. You can drive. But you best not tire poor Victoria out. We're going to need--"

But his sentence was cut short as Senjo snapped the reigns and the carriage lurched forward.


	2. The Blood Vow

As Nicholas loosened Victoria's harness, the exhausted horse trotted over to the nearby stream and flopped down on the grass.

Nicholas let out a laugh. "Never seen a horse do that before."

"That's because she's never had me at her reigns," Senjo said, smiling proudly.

"You've got that right," he laughed, sitting down at the edge of the stream.

She smiled and walked over to her friend, playfully plucking the feathered hat off his head and placing it atop her own.

"So, where are you going this time?" Nicholas asked.

"Huh?"

"You always leave on a boat when you go to port. Where are you bound to?"

Senjo shrugged and plopped down beside him. "I'm not sure yet. Hopefully I can find a ship headed toward the Caribbean or somewhere tropical like that," she said as the hat's brim fell over her eyes.

"Will you come back?" Nicholas asked, pulling up the hat so that he could look into her eyes.

"Of course. Then next time you can ship out with me! We'll have great adventures!" she exclaimed.

"Always looking for a new adventure, eh Sen?" he laughed.

Senjo smiled and nodded. "Of course."

He laughed and shook his head. "I'll miss you when you leave. But at least it'll be a lot quieter," she said jokingly as he took his hat back.

She laughed and playfully hit his shoulder.

Nicholas smiled. "But I'm serious." As he spoke, he pulled out a leather string necklace that had been tucked inside his shirt. A bit of wire wrapped around a cream shark's tooth hung on the end. Nicholas grinned as he pulled the necklaze off. "Do you remember that day at the beach? When we found this?"

Senjo laughed and nodded. "Yes. We were love sick teenagers then."

Nicholas smiled. "How old were we?"

"I was 14, so that made you... 16."

He nodded and ran his thumb over the smooth tooth. "Do you remember that vow we made?" he asked, a misty fondness of the past in his voice.

Senjo let out a small laugh, half hoping he was bringing this up as a joke. "We vowed that we would marry when we were older."

Nicholas smiled at her softly. "There's a few men in the village who have had their eye on you Sen."

She blushed a bright red. Memories of their childhood suddenly filled her head. They had fallen in love when they were young and Senjo had thought that they had both grown out of it. Could Nicholas still be harboring those fellings for her?

"Senjo, I don't want to forget that vow we made, but I want to make it stronger," he continued.

"Nicholas... You don't mean--" He put a finger to her lips to silence her. His touch sent shivers through Senjo's body. Whether they were good or bad, she couldn't tell.

He took her hand in his. "Senjo, you have been my best friend."

Senjo gulped. What did he mean by all this?

He took the necklace and placed it into her palm. "I give you this as a vow. I swear that we will be the closest of friends for the rest of our lives."

Senjo let out a sigh of relief. Good. He didn't still have those feelings. She smiled softly at him.

"We can make that offical." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small knife.

"Are you serious? You know it'll hurt," Nicholas laughed.

She nudged his arm. "You know I'm not like those little glass doll girls back at the village."

He nodded. "You're right. Let's do it."

As she held the knife close to her palm, Senjo smiled at Nicholas.

"You might not want ot get that bloody," he stated, nodding to the necklace in her hand. He took it from her and placed it about her neck.

Senjo smiled down at the shark tooth and then up at Nicholas. "Well, here goes nothing."

With one quick slash of the knife, a gash of red appeared on her palm.

Nicholas grinned at her as he took the knife. "Not in pain are you?" he teased.

"Just hush and cut yourself," she said as she playfully nudged his shin with her foot.

He laughed and ran the blade over his palm. Nicholas set down the knife and held up his hand. Senjo smiled and pressed her palm against his. Nicholas weaved his fingers between hers and gave her hand a light squeeze. Senjo winced slightly, but she was careful not to show any signs of weakness.

After about a minutes of keeping their hands together, Senjo pulled her hand away. She looked down at her palm. Both of their blood was smeared on her hand.

She jumped as she heard the sound of fabric ripping. She looked over at Nicholas as he pulled the last scrap of cloth from the hem of his shirt. He dipped the two pieces of fabric into the stream.

"Come here," he said softly, beckoning her toward him.

Senjo moved closer and held out her bloody hand. Nicholas wrapped the scrap about her palm and tied it tight. Senjo shivered at the coolness of the water, but it did feel wonderful on her skin.


	3. The New Promise

That night, the two friends built a warm fire. As Senjo threw the last bit of wood into the fire, Nicholas motioned for her to sit next to him. She smiled and plopped down infront of him, blocking the heat from reaching him. Nicholas laughed, shook his head, and wrapped his arms about her waist.

Senjo looked back at him. "I do not believe it is proper for a lady to let a man other than her husband or fiance to lay a hand on her," she mocked playfully.

Nicholas laughed and started to tickle beneath her ribs. "Since when have you cared about being proper?"

As she giggled, Senjo tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "Never!"

He smiled and gave her a small kiss on the cheek as he ceased to tickle her.

Senjo suddenly stopped squirming and stared at the flames, dazed.

Nicholas sighed slightly as he laid his chin upon Senjo's shoulder. "Sen... do you think it coul happen again?"

Senjo blinked and tried to look at him. "Could what happen?"

"You know... like when we were younger," he said as he twirled some of her white hair hanging around her upper stomach.

Senjo's insides lurched. He _did_ still have some of those childhood feelings. She let out a sigh, unable to find the words to reply.

Nicholas echoed her sigh. "I'm sorry Sen. I just have this really odd feeling that this next trip you're going to take is... well... like it's going to change us." He softly turned her so that he could look into her eyes. "I just want to know that I'll always still have you," he said as he ran a finger across her cheek.

Senjo closed her eyes, enjoying his touch. But her mind was racing. They had just made a vow that they would be the closest of friends and now this was happening. But then again, she could feel that spark she had felt those four years ago. She opened her eyes and looked up at Nicholas. The fire reflected in his soft blue eyes. She put her hand atop his.

"Nicholas..."

He put a finger against her lips, silencing her. "I know that this voyage is going to be unlike any other that you've ever had. But right now, I want us to live tonight as if nothing is holding us back."

Slowly, he pulled her close to him and soon their lips met. Senjo's mind started to race again, but all thoughts fell back to Nicholas: when they had first met, that day at the beach, when Nicholas had become a carriage driver, and all the times they had spent together. Without her knowledge, Senjo's eyelids drooped to a close as she placed her arms over his shoulders. She could feel him pulling her closer to him; his hands on her waist. Senjo had never been held like this before. In a way it felt awkward, but this new sensation and feeling washed away every thought. As her chest pressed against his, Senjo could feel his heart pounding.

Gently, Nicholas lowered Senjo to the ground. He slowly pulled out of the kiss and looked down at her, his blue eyes shimmering like Senjo had never seen them before.

"Promise you'll come back to me," he whispered as he bent down and gently kissed her neck.

Senjo took one of his hands and held it against her heart. "I swear on my life," she replied; and she meant it.

Nichols looked down into her emerald eyes and smiled softly. He brushed back a loose strand of white hair that had fallen over Senjo's face. Once again, he leaned foward to kiss her.

Senjo could feel his passion flowing through the kiss. This was the best feeling she had ever experianced and she would never forget this night.


	4. Sweet Parting

The soft morning's rays warmed Senjo's face as she awoke. She turned her hear to see Nicholas sleeping beside her, his arms wrapped about her waist. She smiled and gently kissed his lips, causing his eyes to flutter open. He smiled at her and softly touched her cheek.

"'Morning," he said quietly.

Senjo took hold of his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Good morning."

Nicholas smiled and hugged her as he stretched his arms. He looked at her as he said, "We better start up."

"But why?" she groaned. "Can't we just stay here?"

"No," he laughed. "I need to get you back to port."

Senjo frowned. "I don't really have to go anywhere."

Nicholas simply shook his head. "Sen, it'll give us both time to really think this over. Besides, when you get back, I should have more money. We could visit the Carribean. As best friends or as husband and wife. But we need time to decide."

Senjo nodded, agreeing. "You're right."

He laughed and tugged on the necklace around her neck. "And don't you dare forget me and fall for some sailor."

Senjo grinned and shook her head. "Never. Besides, a sailor would never stay true to one woman. You know what some of those ports are like."

Nicholas chuckled and sat up, pulling her along with him. He smiled and kissed her cheek before saying, "Come on."

Senjo nodded and stood. She brushed off the dirt that still hung on her clothes.

Nicholas also got to his feet. He took Senjo's hand in his and gently kissed it. "Will you tack up Victoria for me?"

"If it weren't for last night, I'd be sending you after the horse," she giggled, grabbing some rope from the side of the carriage.

* * *

The sun was slowly sinking in the red sky as they neared the port. Senjo sighed and shifted her weight in the seat. Nicholas had talked her into sitting in the carriage, as it gave him the impression of a wonderful driver. Senjo lurched forward slightly as the carriage same to a hault. The door opened and fresh sea ari blye into the compartment. Nicholas smiled and held out a hand to her.

"We're here," he said.

Senjo took his hand and stepped out onto the cobble stone street. She glanced around at the buildings, as if seeing them for the first time, although she had been here many times before.

Nicholas took a hand and turned Senjo to face him. "Sen, I want you to really think while you're on this voyage," he said softly.

She nodded. "Do you want me to write to--"

He put a finger over her lips. "Don't write to me. Only write to tell me what day you will be returning, so I can meet you on the docks."

Senjo smiled softly at him. "All right. But I'll tell you everything when I get back."

Nichola nodded, grinning. "You better." He gently reached out and touched the shark tooth necklace. "And remember our promise."

Senjo bit the inside of her mouth slightly. She always hated good-byes. Before it registered in her mind, she had thrown her arms over Nicholas' shoulders, hugging him tightly. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered into his ear.

Nicholas let out a laugh and embraced her. "Just keep missing me so you won't forget me."

As she shook her head, Senjo smiled. "I'd never forget you. And I'll write to you and tell you when I get back into port. I promise."

The young man took her in his arms and gently kissed her lips. "I'll look forward to your return Miss Kistune."

She laughed and gave him one last hug. Soon, the embrace ended and he slipped from her grasp, like sand from a loosened palm. But before he hopped atop his seat, he turned and smiled at her.

"I think you'll need this more than I will," he said as she tossed something at her.

Catching it, Senjo relized it to be the sack of money she had given to him the day before. She looked up and grinned anc Nicholas.

"My heart will love only you, Senjo Kitsune," he called out as he slowly started down the cobblestones.

Senjo stood in the street and waved to him, until a curve in the road took him from sight.


	5. Night

Author's Note: Just to give everyone a heads up, this next chapter contains a rape. I tried to stray away from full description, but if you feel uncomfortable with reading it, go ahead and skip to the next chapter. You won't miss too much. Thanks for reading this far!

As the stars became more visible in the blanket of darkness overhead, Senjo emerged from one of the shops with a bag full of goods and equipment and her money sack considerably lighter than it had been. She smiled happily to herself. Now, the only task that remained was to decide on which ship to stow away upon. She was very grateful that it was night. Most sailors would be at the local tavern, drinking and finding "pleasurable" company. She let out a small laugh as a few sailor stories floated into her mind; stories of buccaneers and pirates. Senjo had traveled the sea far and wide and she had yet to come across a pirate. Though some of the stories sparked her curiosity. What would life be like, to live as a pirate? To commandeer ships and plunder merchant vessels for their treasures? But, as of late, there had been no sightings of pirates.

As she rounded a corner, she would spot the docks. Senjo smiled and adjusted the bag on her shoulder, continuing down the dark street.

A hackling laughter sounded from a nearby alley. "Aye, what 'ave we 'ere?"

Senjo turned to spot a fairly large man grinning at her. As his ale-stained shirt clearly showed, this man was drunk.

"'Ello Poppet! Why don't ya come 'ere and say 'ello to your ol' friend Robert?" he hiccupped.

Senjo looked at him with disgust, but before she could even begin to walk again, the drunken man grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the dark alley. She struggled but, for an intoxicated man, he held a strong grip over her. He ran a large hand up her thigh and gave a grunt when he didn't find the skin he had expected. He held her at arm's length to examine her attire.

"Dressin' like a man, are we now?" he laughed as he slipped a small dagger from his belt.

Senjo's heart suddenly plummeted into her stomach. That was one thing she had forgotten to buy, a weapon. Was he going to kill her? Was her great journey going to be over before it even began?

But the man grabbed the in-seam to her cotton pants and slashed at the stitching. When he had created a hole large enough, he laughed and grinned at her. "Let's see if ya're really a woman now."

Before she could open her mouth to speak, the man thrust his hand inside her pants and grabbed her, hard. Senjo winced and dropped her bag. She tried to push him away, but with his free hand, he pinned both her arms to the wall above her.

"Aye, an' I see ya're a fresh one too," he chuckled.

Senjo quickly tried to pull her legs together, but he was once again faster than her; he put his feet on the inside of hers and moved them so that her legs spread farther apart. The man removed his hand and pulled down his pants slightly. Senjo quickly shut her eyes tightly.

"Bet ya've never felt this before," he laughed as he pushed himself against her.

Senjo gasped, ready to scream more in pain than in fright. The man placed his mouth over hers in a disgusting kiss, silencing her. The foul taste of ale and pipe smoke flooded into Senjo's mouth. She wanted to scream, kick, punch... just do anything she could to get out of that alley... away from that horrid man.

He kept pushing himself against her, pinning her to the cold stonewall. There was nothing she could do. If she tried to run, he would catch her. And he was much too strong to fight against. Once again, she cursed in her mind for not purchasing any kind of weapon. So, she was trapped.

The drunk slipped his tongue into her mouth, running it along her own tongue. She wanted to bite the filthy thing off, but fear kept her from moving. Slowly, his rough hand crept up the inside of her shirt. As he started to grab at her chest, the man's lower part of his body started to twitch. Senjo could feel him moving in and out of her. Her vision started to blur as the man thrusted against her harder and harder. He grabbed her chest tightly and dug his yellowed nails into her soft skin. She almost yelled out in pain until she felt him push against her one last time. But this time, he kept her pinned hard against the wall. Senjo felt as if the man wanted to go through her. Suddenly, he thrust his pelvis upward. Senjo winced and the dark alley faded away.


	6. Potatoes and Pirates

A loud yell caused Senjo to sit up bolt right. Her emerald eyes darted about, scanning for that horrid man. But the shout hadn't come from a drunkard; it was from the docks. Senjo looked around her. She was still in that alleyway. As she noticed that her bag was lying beside her, she let out a relieved sigh. As least she hadn't been robbed of her provisions as well as her virginity. She suddenly despised all men. They were thieving bastards. All of them. Save for Nicholas. She wished that she had never decided to leave him. But there was nothing she could do now. She would go on this trip for him. She picked up her back, but winced. Senjo looked down at her wrists and saw them to be red. She cursed underneath her breath as she stood. Grabbing her things, she ran to the docks. Only one ship remained. Once again, she cursed her luck and board the vessel. It was a magnificent ship; much better than some she had been on before. But one thing was certain: it was neither a whaling ship not a fishing ship. But Senjo honestly didn't care. She hadn't even taken notice to the name of the ship.

She found her way down to the galley and sat down atop one of the wooden tables. She placed her face in her hands and let the silent tears stream from her eyes. How could she have let that happen last night? Why couldn't she stop the man? After a few moments of shivering sobs, Senjo wiped the tears try and looked up at the little patch of blue sky that was visible from the inside of the galley.

"I swear by the constant sun that I shall never look at another man other than Nicholas. And I will be the greatest fighter any man on the open sea has seen," she vowed.

As her words faded into the silent morning, the stamp of boots could be heard on the dock. Senjo strained to listen to the footsteps. As they grew closer, she started to panic. Where to hide?

As if answering the question for her, Senjo's emerald eyes fell upon a large barrel. She threw the lid open, tossed her things in, and hopped in herself. Safely placing the lid back into place, she noticed the barrel bottom was scattered with potatoes. Senjo smiled to herself. Well, at least she wouldn't go hungry. She glanced down and spotted the rip in her pants from the previous night. She glared and pulled the bag toward her. As she looked through the sack for a needle and some thread, Senjo started to think of all the terrible ways she could kill the man if their paths ever crossed again. When she started to sew, voices sounded from the deck. Senjo's interests were suddenly sparked as she heard a woman's voice yelling orders to the crew.

Finishing the last stitch, she slipped the needle and thread away and leaned the back of her head on the side of the barrel. As she closed her eyes, Senjo once again wished that she hadn't told Nicholas that she was going to be leaving. Slowly, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

As she awoke, Senjo's stomach gave a hungry grumble. She yawned and grabbed for a potato. After brushing off some dirt, she crunched into the raw vegetable. The potato was pretty good, thought she would've liked it better if there were some salt to be had.

As she was about to finish the last bit, the lid flew open. Senjo squinted against the sudden brightness, but her vision soon adjusted. Standing before her was a rather tall Asian woman and bright blonde man. The woman had to be less than year older than Senjo and the man seemed to be two years ahead of the Asian woman.

Popping the last bit of potato into her mouth, Senjo looked up at the pair with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"Hey Maggie. Looks like we have another potato fancier," the man laughed.

Senjo smiled nervously up at them.

But the woman glared down at her. "You. Come with me. Mitchie, gather the crew," she said as she kicked Senjo's barrel to the floor.

The blonde man nodded. "Aye Captain." His almost white hair shimmered as he walked up to the deck.

Senjo stood and grabbed her back, dusting off some dirt.

"Follow me." The Asian roughly grabbed her arm and led her up the stairs onto the deck.

Senjo squinted her emerald eyes as the sun beat down on her. She glanced around and spotted a large group of men starting to gather. She could even see the bright blonde man among the crowd.

The captain dragged her to the upper deck and tossed her to the wooden floor. "Who was on watch while we were in port?" she bellowed, her sharp brown eyes scanning the crew.

Senjo winced slightly as she sat up. She rubbed her elbow, as it had hit the hard deck after the woman had thrown her.

"I was." A tall man stepped out from the cluster of crew members, smiling proudly. "Drew at your service my fair la-"

"You will refer to me as Captain. Captain Maggie Blackheart," she said, rolling her eyes.

The tall man nodded. "Yes, but I was on watch all ni-"

"While you were out buying cheap whores, Mr. Bilge, we received a stowaway!" Maggie yelled, glaring at him.

Senjo stifled a laugh as she heard the man's nickname.

"What'd she do?" someone shouted out.

The captain looked at her crew. "What'd she do?" she repeated. "Thanks to her, we'll barely have enough potatoes to boil in a tankard!"

There was a large intake of breath from he crew as they gaped at Senjo.

"We can always stop and get some more," the blonde man bellowed back to the captain.

"Mitchie, I know. But that's not the point! She's a _stowaway_!" Maggie said.

He walked forward from the crowd. "She can be crew. I could teach her."

Maggie rolled her eyes. "How can we trust her? She could be a spy for the Navy."

"Do you honestly think the Navy would employ a woman?" Mitchie asked very confidently.

There was a murmur of talk floating around the crew. Maggie looked at her men and let out an irritated sigh.

"Fine! All in favor of keeping this urchin, say 'Aye'."

There was fairly loud "aye" from the men. Maggie nodded and called Mitchie forward. She pulled Senjo to her feet and thrust the white-haired girl to the cook.

"She's all yours. But she better be the best damned crew member I've ever seen." And with that, Maggie stormed off to her quarters.

Mitchie smiled at Senjo, holding out a hand. "Welcome aboard the _Siren,_ Miss..."

"Senjo Kitsune," she replied flatly as she looked down at his hand.

Mitchie pulled back his hand, obviously embarrassed. "Well, I'll try and help you fit into the pirate life."

"PIRATE?!" Senjo yelped out.

Mitchie clapped his hand to his forehead. "We better take you to the Captain..."


End file.
